I guess I'm a highpointer, I got 4 so far, MT, ID, UT, CO, I don't plan on doing the eastern highpoints, though. I'm not going to waste gas money to climb a couple of hills. I definitely gotta do Denali.

I'm a hiker, I climb state and county highpoints (HP); some many times (Mitchell, Grassy, Rogers, Grandfather, Roan, etc), and sometimes incorporate HP into car or backpacking trips trips. Not so anal as to only hike HP. Its something my 10 yo and I like to do. We've done some of the harder ones in the area when we live in SWVa, (Letcher Ky, Beartown, Sandymush, Potato) and made some hard by doing a longer hike (Holsten, Washington Tenn, Pike Ky ). He really wants to connect Pike Ky and the Atlantic Ocean on his map.That gives us 5 counties between the house and the beach.

We'll probably start moving up into central Va mountains this fall (Cahas, Poor, the Priest). But we'll see what he wants to do.He's done 3 states, 37 counties (26 this year alone), Me 15 states (including Rainier and Hood in late spring, Washington, Mitchell, Rogers in winter), 97 counties. Alot of times my hiking has taken me over HP, especially on the AT (19).

I might get all state HP it'll take awhile, no hurry. Though going to Ohio in October for a meeting. Hope to get 5 states. maybe total of 15 counties. To many places to hike without HP.

Last edited by e-doc on Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Don't discount the eastern state highpoints. Even though I've lived at elevations higher than some of those HPs all my life, I'd hardly say that peaks like Katahdin and Mt. Washington don't count as "mountains". Besides, we had a great time visiting all the states in the country, and often going to areas we may never have seen if we hadn't gotten into highpointing.

Wow. I'm so psyched to hear from so many awesome people. All of your trips sound so cool! Doing them all in one year sounds like one hell of a trip! And the speed record- well, the great thing about that is, no matter how fast you do it, someone can always come along and try to do it faster.

One reason I started this thread is that highpointing is a little different than mountaineering. It's about going to the different states, meeting the people, eating their food, listening to their politics, etc. So much of it is about travel. And when I get to Kansas (is that one called Mount Sunflower?) I'm gonna be psyched just to look around at Kansas! Maybe not as excited as Denali, but still excited.

And I want to say I'm not counting out Denali, it's just I don't want to pressure my daughter. I'm trying to keep it fun for her and bring her along gradually, you know? Baby steps.

To anyone reading this who wants to get their wife, kids, other family members and friends into mountaineering, I'd definitely recommend highpointing. You can start them off with something easy, tell them about the travel, and then start ramping them up toward the places you really want to go!

My kid and I are probably going to need a lot of years to get to every state. But that's another good thing about it for serious mountaineers. On the way I plan to sneak in some other climbs that I probably want more than the high point. Like in Colorado, for example. I mean, Mount Elbert seems nice, but I want to get Cypress on Longs and Mount Sneffels and as many other "classics" and "skill builders" as possible.

Hey, if anyone has a favorite state highpoint or awesome non-highpoint climb, I'd love to hear about it.

I can totally empathize with Rocker Paully. I moved to Pennsylvania from Santa Fe and these little Eastern bumps don't always seem that inspiring. One of the differences between "highpointers" and "mountaineers" I guess. But every state has to have a high point, and that counts for something.

But I wanted to say that climbing them from lowest to highest is one of the coolest Ideas I've heard. Talk about ramping up!

And Puma concolor, the first one is Katahdin and the last one is Mount Washington, right?
What's the third one- Mount Mansfield in Vermont?

Winglady- I have your book- it is our guide for all our highpoint climbs! It is a great guidebook. Especially appreciated are the nonclimbing points of interest near each highpoint. My only quibble is that I wish you listed a climb for each mountain. Maybe highpointers count driving up the mountain as a climb, but a lot of people, including me, don't! I wonder Diane if you have any plans of completing your list and climbing Denali?

Puma- Nice photos of those mountains. I moved here (to Pa.) from New Mexico and Wheeler is a really nice mountain! Going up Bull of the Woods Trail and down to Williams Lake is one of the nicest day hikes in the state. Never did Guadalupe but it is an impressive "sky island".

GEM Trail wrote:One reason I started this thread is that highpointing is a little different than mountaineering. It's about going to the different states, meeting the people, eating their food, listening to their politics, etc. So much of it is about travel. And when I get to Kansas (is that one called Mount Sunflower?) I'm gonna be psyched just to look around at Kansas! Maybe not as excited as Denali, but still excited.

Hey, if anyone has a favorite state highpoint or awesome non-highpoint climb, I'd love to hear about it.

Going to the top of Iowa has its own reasons...not exactly a climb. BUT...The experience of the trip, and the satisfaction of another HP done, (no matter how flat it is) can be a thrilling experience. Nothing like driving through a Wisconsin and a Minnesota Blizzard, they were quite thrilling. Peaks like Borah, gave me a far different sense of accomplishment.

Glad to see you take your family with you, mine can't understand my goals and think I'm crazy...their loss. I took a now ex-girlfriend with on the first 6, which was just awesome. The hangover in Deadwood, SD and "climbing" NE in the dark were experiences that forever will impact my life.